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Tech N9ne
Aaron "Tech N9ne" Yates is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur from Kansas City, Missouri. Yates is the cofounder of the American independent record label, Strange Music, as well as the label's vice president and flagship artist. To date, Tech N9ne has Soundscanned over two million albums independently, making him the most successful independent hip hop artist in the world. Early Life Tech N9ne was born Aaron Dontez Yates on November 8, 1971, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The son of Maudie Sue Yates-Kalifa, who gave birth to Aaron when she was 16 years old, Tech N9ne grew up surrounded by music, and took up rapping at an early age. He recalls being brought up on the rock and blues music of his uncles as well as the country and gospel music that his mother favored, being exposed to a broad range of artists from Elton John to Led Zeppelin and more. This diverse background colored Tech's own eclectic style throughout his life, and he began to take music more seriously in high school, even skipping his own graduation to open a show for hip hop artists EPMD and Kwamé. Career In his early days, Tech rapped as a member of the group Black Mafia, which formed in 1991, and fellow group member Black Walt provided him with his rap name, named after the Tec-9 semiautomatic handgun due to his high-speed rhyme style. He later adjusted this name to refer also to the number of completion in numerology, stating the name also means "the complete technique of rhyme", or technique number nine. He then joined the group Nnutthowze alongside IcyRoc Kravyn and B'zle, and the group inked a deal with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis's label, Perspective Records, in 1993. This was short-lived, however, and the group was released before disbanding. During this time, he hooked up with an old homeboy, a producer named Don Juan, Anghellic's other wiz kid. He started experimenting even further, rhyming backwards and putting out independent singles with dope dealing money, anything to stay in the game. An L.A. contact at Rappages Magazine turned him on to the son of the famed producer Quincy Jones. Tech made his next leap of faith, signing with Quincy Jones' Qwest Records, a label that would follow the same path as Perspective. It was here that legendary producer Quincy Jones gave him the advice on which he would build his career: "write your life, and people will forever feel you." While on Qwest Records, Tech was working on what was supposed to be his debut album, Be Warned ''which was supposed to be released in 1997. By the time he was finished recording "Twisted" (which is on ''Anghellic), ''the album ''Be Warned ''was complete. However, Qwest decided to shelf the album, leaving Tech to languish. He would later want to get out of the deal, and that's where Travis O'Guin came in. After the Black Mafia days, Tech saw some local success collaborating with the Rogue Dog Villians, a Kansas City group that also contained later-Strange Music artist Big Scoob, participating in their regional hit "Let's Get Fucked Up". In 1997, Tech's career began to really take off, joining Bay Area rapper Yukmouth's Regime collective, appearing on several major motion picture soundtracks, and making numerous appearances on nationally syndicated radio show "The Wake Up Show". The show's hosts Sway & King Tech worked closely with Tech, including him in their hit record "The Anthem" alongside rap veterans like Kool G Rap and KRS-One as well as then-up-and-comers such as Eminem. It was this exposure that led to him meeting Travis O'Guin and forming his label, Strange Music, in 1999. Tech finally released his national debut album, Anghellic, in 2001 through a distribution deal with JCOR Entertainment. Despite JCOR mishandling the album, it became an underground smash hit and remains a cult favorite to this day, even having one of its songs featured in the Fox television show ''Dark Angel. Disputes over JCOR's business dealings led to a split between Strange and JCOR, however, and O'Guin and Tech would ultimately sign a new distribution deal with MSC Entertainment in 2002. The partnership with MSC was ultimately a fruitful one, with the label allowing Tech and O'Guin to market their newest project, Absolute Power, the way they chose, leading to it becoming another underground hit, remaining Tech's biggest selling album to this day. However, the relationship eventually deteriorated and Strange would partner with Fontana Entertainment from 2006 on. Tech didn't release any new music for 4 years from 2002-2006 due to personal issues such as his battle with drugs, his failing marriage, and the murder of his best friend B'zle, among other things, though the label did manage to rerelease Anghellic in 2002, launch its first new artists in 2004 and drop a Tech N9ne compilation in 2005. Tech returned to the scene in 2006 with Everready (The Religion), an album which Tech himself maintains is his best work, and began a run of prolificity that continues into today, averaging 1-2 projects a year every year since with his profile growing with each new release. The ongoing success reached a fever pitch after hip hop superstar Lil Wayne referenced Tech as one of the first people he wanted to work with upon his release from prison, catapulting his name fully into the mainstream. Tech has worked with a huge variety of artists from across multiple genres throughout his career, including Lil Wayne, T-Pain, B.o.B., Wiz Khalifa, the Doors, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Lion, and many more, as well as piloting the Strange Music label to huge success with its own stable of underground artists. In 2013, Tech N9ne earned his first gold plaque for the song "Caribou Lou", signifying over 500,000 copies sold. In the Media Tech N9ne's music has been featured across a variety of different media. In 1997, his song "Questions" appeared on the soundtrack to the 2Pac and Jim Belushi film Gang Related, featured alongside music from 2Pac, Ice Cube, Kool & the Gang, and more. In 2001 "Tormented" was played in an episode of the Fox drama Dark Angel. "The Beast" appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 video game Madden NFL 2006. Tech N9ne is an unlockable character in the 2006 video game 25 To Life. The songs "Caribou Lou", "Slither", "La La Land", and "Night and Day" were featured on the soundtrack to the 2007 film Alpha Dog. Tech was originally set to score the film before the studio decided on a more commercial soundtrack, featuring Tech alongside the likes of Citizen Cope and Eminem, among others. Also in 2007, "Caribou Lou" was played in an episode of the MTV reality show My Super Sweet 16. In 2008, "Earthquake" was the featured music in a performance on MTV reality competition America's Best Dance Crew. "Everybody Move" appears on the soundtrack to the 2008 video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles. In 2009, "Let's Go" was used in a short promotional film for Axe body spray. In 2010, "Let's Go" was heard in an episode of MTV reality show The Hills. In 2011, "Demons" appeared in the pilot episode of Ironside. Tech's music has been used in several sporting events as well, including MMA fighter Gilbert Melendez entering the ring at the 2009 Strikeforce event "Carano Vs. Cyborg" to Tech's "The Beast" and TNA Wrestling's Harcore Justice pay-per-view using "Riot Maker" as theme music. Actor and athlete Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson cites Tech as one of his favorite artists. Tech N9ne has appeared on MTV's When I Was 17 as well as their game show Hip Hop Squares. He also performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in their "Cypher" series, alongside Big K.R.I.T., B.o.B., Kendrick Lamar, and MGK. Discography Main article: Tech N9ne discography 1999: The Calm Before the Storm: Part I 2000: The Worst 2001: Anghellic 2002: Celcius 2002: Absolute Power 2005: Vintage Tech 2006: Everready (The Religion) 2007: Collabos: Misery Loves Kompany 2008: Killer 2009: Collabos: Sickology 101 2009: K.O.D. 2010: The Lost Scripts of K.O.D. 2010: Collabos: The Gates Mixed Plate 2010: Seepage 2010: Bad Season 2011: All 6's and 7's 2011: Collabos: Welcome To Strangeland 2012: Klusterfuk 2012: E.B.A.H. 2012: Boiling Point 2013: Something Else 2013: Therapy 2014: Collabos: Strangeulation 2015: Special Effects 2015: Collabos: Strangeulation, Vol. II Filmography 'Film' 'Television' Accolades Tech N9ne won the MTVu Left Field Woodie Award in 2009, beating out Amanda Blank, Janelle Monáe, Major Lazer, and Jay Reatard.